A high quality field qualified for the finals night of Crossmaglen pairs, with some fantastic games throughout.
Quarter Finals
Jon Lewis & Shane Hand Vs Stuart McSorley & John Quinn – This was a good game throughout. Jon and Shane managed to take a 6-4 lead into the last end, and it looked like they would get the win when Shane drew his last bowl on top of the jack. However John threw a good accurate fire with his last bowl and got the result he needed from it, with the jack rebounding towards 2 of his own bowls and forced the tie-breaker end. The tie-breaker was nip and tuck too, and while Shane had the chance to draw in with his last bowl, he was a fraction wide and so Stuart and John moved on.
Fra McArdle & Declan McKeown Vs Michael McLearnon & Tom Rushe – This game was also very tight throughout with very little to choose between the 2 pairs during the game. In the end though Fra and Declan were able to come through and advance to the semi finals.
Niall Martin & Thomas Martin Vs Niall Hand & Paul Duff – Unfortunately in this game Niall and Thomas never really got going, and with Niall and Paul in good form they were able to come through this game comfortably in the end.
Vera Mohan & Gerard McKeown Vs Jim Fox & Michael Hand – This was another good tight game with the lead changing hands multiple times throughout the game, and was level going into the last end. In the last end it looked like Jim and Michael had done enough for the win when Michael put the jack into the ditch and had a bowl quite near it, leaving Gerard a very tough draw with his last bowl. However Gerard threw a fantastic bowl with it stopping right before the line, and so claimed the victory to move on.
Semi Finals
Stuart McSorley & John Quinn Vs Vera Mohan & Gerard McKeown – This game started out well with both pairs making tough shots, leaving it at 4-4 after the first 5 ends. However from this point on Stuart and John were able to take control of the match, gaining a 4 shot lead going into the last end and were able to hold on for the victory.
Fra McArdle & Declan McKeown Vs Niall Hand & Paul Duff – At first it looked like Niall and Paul were going to cruise to another win in this semi final, as they opened up a strong lead after the first few ends. But Fra and Declan made a great comeback throwing some great bowls along the way. In the end though it wasn’t quite enough as they could only get 2 shots in the last end when they needed 3 to draw, and so Niall and Paul managed to get through with a 9-8 victory.
Final
This left us with an exciting match-up in the final with Niall Hand and Paul Duff taking on Stuart McSorely and John Quinn, and the game didn’t disappoint. Early on in the game it looked like Stuart and John were playing the better bowls, and threatened to take control of the match on a number of occasions. However Niall and Paul hung in and were able to keep in touch, picking up shots when they absolutely needed it. And so going into the last end Stuart and John had a 9-8 lead. But Niall and Paul played the last end well, getting their bowls in first. John was unable to get them out and so Niall and Paul got the 2 shots they needed to win the final 10-9.
Congratulations to Niall and Paul and a big thank you to everyone who supported the tournament! You can watch the final in the video below. Our games are streamed at twitch.tv/OrielZoneBowls and you can watch them back at https://www.youtube.com/@OrielZoneBowls.
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